Emmanuel Ametepey, the Executive Director of Youth Advocates Ghana (YAG) and Convener of African Youth SDGs Summit has been selected for UNDP`s 16 x16 Initiative.
’16 x 16’ is a new global initiative, supported by the Government of Italy, as part of UNDP’s Youth Global Programme for Sustainable Development and Peace (Youth-GPS), to recognize and support 16 youth-led organizations, movements or networks that promote Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG16). It is also a contribution to the implementation of the United Nations Youth Strategy, “Youth 2030”.
The full list of ‘16 x 16’Young Leaders are:
- Ana Carolina Paixao de Queiroz, Ponciá, Brazil
- Arnaldo Rene Diaz Bonilla, Ayudando a Honduras/ Red de Jóvenes de Jutiapa, Honduras
- Dalia Francheska Marquez Añez, United Youth in Action, Venezuela
- Neville Charlton, Youths Inspiring Positive Change, Jamaica
- Antonina Rishko-Porcescu, EvalYouth, Moldova (Ukrainian nationality)
- Samira Baručija, Youth for Peace BiH, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Emmanuel Ametepey, Youth Advocates Ghana, Ghana
- Wevyn Helen Awiti Muganda, HAKI AFRICA (national human rights organization); Beyond The Lines; Kauli Zetu Mtaani, Kenya
- Alice Ameyovi Goza, International Association of Women and Young Leaders (AIFJL), Togo
- Charles Kajoloweka, Youth and Society (YAS), Malawi
- Jagdish Kumar Ayer, Association of Youth Organizations Nepal (AYON), Nepal
- Lynrose Jane Dumandan Genon, Youth Amplifying Co-creating and Advocating Peace (Project YACAP); Young Women+ for Peace and Leadership-Philippines, Philippines
- Karim Mahmoud Abdelhamid Abdallah Habib, Educuality, Egypt
- Sihem Nasraoui, Peace Lab, Tunisia
- Elisha Azeemah Bano, Act It Network, Fiji
- Phillip Subu Taungani, Malaita Youth Caucus, Solomon Islands
The ’16 x 16′ represents a diverse group of young leaders and their work covers most areas of SDG16. The ’16 x 16’ participants will be part of a comprehensive programme of activities led by UNDP in collaboration with UN and other partners, as part of formal and informal SDG16-related processes and implementation.
The participants will participate in a one-day meeting prior to the SDG16 Preparatory Conference in Rome (May 2019); contribute to a youth blog series on peaceful, just and inclusive societies; provide insights, guidance and recommendations to practitioners to strengthen youth-led programming; might be engaged in UN meetings and activities -including the SDG16 Preparatory Conference, the HLPF, the SDG Summit.
More specifically, the ’16 x 16’ Initiative aims to:
- Recognize and make visible young people’s leadership, agency and positive role in the context of SDG16, including by supporting their participation in the SDG16 Preparatory Conference in Rome in May 2019;
- Expand existing and open new channels for participation in SDG implementation, monitoring and review, with a focus on SDG16 and related frameworks; and,
- Support the development of youth-inclusive and co-created guidance and codification of knowledge, to strengthen policy and programming and achieve better collective impact.
Emmanuel`s selection to the 16 x16 Initiative is in recognition of his role and contribution to the mobilization of the active participation of the youth in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa.
In 2017, Emmanuel launched the African Youth SDGs Summit as the largest forum on the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa which directly impacted over 2,000 delegates of young leaders and policy makers from Africa and beyond. The summit has become a rallying point and a catalyst for partnerships with local governments, CSOs, local UN systems, and in some cases the summit participants have themselves become accountability or monitoring champions for SDGs delivery in Africa. The summit was named among the 2018 finalist of the UN SDG Action Campaign in Bonn, Germany.
The 3rd summit is due to take place in June 2020 in Accra, Ghana.
A big thank you to all the organizers and a lot of encouragement.